Another great place for costume shopping is etsy.com. Prices vary pretty widely, but you can get some great deals on great, unique items.

I like to by pasties, bustles, etc from there.

They also have the 'alchemy' option, where you can post a description of what you want, possibly even pictures/concept drawings if you have them, your price range, and artists bid on making your requested item. Pretty friggin' cool if you ask me.

I adore the Victoria Velvet costumes. And while many of her costumes incorporate feather boas, which I know are a big no-no, you can just request a custom order sans-feathers. She has a couple designs with really nice drape-y fabric instead.

Her prices are great...you can hardly get a corset on it's own for the price she sells these for.

"the aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware - joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware." - henry miller

I think a lot of the stuff on etsy is a very fair value, especially considering pretty much everything is handmade - there is something to be said for that. And I don't mind spending a bit more money to support an artist by buying an item that will bring me a lot of joy.

A friend of mine has an etsy store. I see first hand how it puts food on her (and her daughter's) plate. And I like to think that I'm doing that for other independent designers as well.

Mind you, I've never skimped on costume pieces, even in my tighter budget days...not that I have much of a budget even these days. What can I say, I have a serious addiction. =/

Haha, I probably spend more on costumeage in a year than I do on new, every day clothes.

Bad, bad britz.

Um anyway...I think I've fallen off the point.

"the aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware - joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware." - henry miller

Yeah, I know you didn't say the prices weren't fair. Like I said, I fell off the point. haha. Sorry.

As for tribe.net...Tribe is dead to me. =/ I tribed hard for a few years. And then 'they' ruined it. And it reminds me of a time in my life that is long gone...Hard to explain. I do miss the 'good old days' of tribe now and then, though...

I probably will buy some new stuff for the Burn but I have so much costume stuff it'll also be a matter of going through what I have and deciding what to take and what to leave. 8 years of costume accumulation. My collection is excessive. Maybe I'll bring stuff to gift to people? I dunno...depends on transportation at the moment. But I do have a tried and true party coat. And it did come from a thrift store. They're the best for funky coats.

"the aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware - joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware." - henry miller

All the no is in the wallet...well, and some in the brain. I could take a nice trip to Prague, or somewhere new, instead of another week at the desert rave... :twisted:[/quote]

C.f.M. Have you thought about volunteering with a department? You'd still have to get yourself there, but you can have substantial portions of what it costs handled by that. None that I know of would give you a ticket ahead of time, that's true, but you could camp with some, get food from the department, etc. We have some people in Gate that spend very, very little to get/stay at the event.

I know there are others...but of course you'd spend 30+ hours of your time out there working/volunteering, but that's its own special reward...lol

The fox provides for himself, but God provides for the lion - W. Blake (attribution corrected)

All the no is in the wallet...well, and some in the brain. I could take a nice trip to Prague, or somewhere new, instead of another week at the desert rave...

C.f.M. Have you thought about volunteering with a department? You'd still have to get yourself there, but you can have substantial portions of what it costs handled by that. None that I know of would give you a ticket ahead of time, that's true, but you could camp with some, get food from the department, etc. We have some people in Gate that spend very, very little to get/stay at the event.

I know there are others...but of course you'd spend 30+ hours of your time out there working/volunteering, but that's its own special reward...lol

Yes, I have (Rangering) but never in the context of doing it to save money...unfortunately, when it comes to food, I have to be mostly reliant, as I'm gluten-free, so the kindly community burritos, pastas, granola, sandwiches, etc. are off-limits to me.

[quote="C.f.M."]
Yes, I have (Rangering) but never in the context of doing it to save money...unfortunately, when it comes to food, I have to be mostly reliant, as I'm gluten-free, so the kindly community burritos, pastas, granola, sandwiches, etc. are off-limits to me.

It is something I could consider, thanks for the reminder.[/quote]

Couple of points. The departments that reward you with food generally do so via feeding you at Commissary.

Commissary every meal provides a vegan option that is very often gluten-free. It'd certainly be mostly enough to take care of most of your food needs, with you bringing some supplemental food for days where they aren't serving something you like.

Rangers, Gate and DPW might all be good things to investigate.

The fox provides for himself, but God provides for the lion - W. Blake (attribution corrected)

CfM, from a purely selfish point of view, you have blown the cover off my second favorite old clothes store online. Got some cool stuff on there, but now I'm going to have to bid against other burners.

cosmicdancer wrote:And, I hate to go the generic route, but fluffies / fluffy boot covers look like they will also serve as great way to help keep the Playa out of footwear and keep your legs warm at night.